16 Gifts
by asparagus-and-strawberry-tarts
Summary: It's America's first birthday since her daughter Adrienne was born, and Maxon gives her presents. Well, 16 presents to be exact. Set in the universe of Hushedhands' "The Laws of Inheritance" and written by Asparagus for Strawberry Tarts' birthday. Also inspired by the 2015 World Series. Disclaimer: All rights go to Kiera Cass and Hushedhands


Happy Birthday, Strawberry Tarts! Love, Asparagus

America was thoroughly confused when she woke up and it was light outside. She blinked and squinted against the sun trying to figure out why there wasn't a baby crying. It wasn't possible that she had actually woken up on her own. Almost three months since Addy had been born, she still couldn't sleep through the night. The king and queen had been committed to being very involved with their baby bird's childhood- which to them meant getting up with her at all hours of the night.

But this morning, Addy was not crying. Apparently, her diaper didn't need to be changed, she wasn't hungry, she didn't need to be held, and apparently, her pacifier hadn't fallen out of her mouth. Was this a dream? America sat up and glance at the clock. It was almost ten o'clock, which was an insanely late time to wake up for Illea's hardworking queen. Said queen started to panic. She had probably missed a meeting with Silvia or Marlee! Why hadn't Mary woken her up?

America leaped out of bed, pulled on her robe and hurried into the family room. What she found surprised her.

"Happy Birthday, Love!" Maxon called to her from the couch where he was cuddling their baby daughter. America just stood there for a few seconds before she realized that it was, in fact, her birthday. In past years, it had been hard to forget, because the palace had always hosted a ball on the same night. This year it would be done differently because the planning required for the international summit had delayed the planning for America's birthday bonanza. They were holding it next week instead. That explained why America's memory had failed her.

"Oh, I actually completely forgot! Is that why you let me sleep in?" She asked Maxon. He raised an eyebrow.

"You forgot your own birthday, Ames?"

"Yes I did, and while appreciate you letting me sleep in, I need to get to work, and so do you" America finished. She crossed the room and gave her husband and daughter kisses before moving to call for Mary and get dressed. Maxon grabbed her arm.

"Hey, I gave us both the day off, there's no need. And tonight I'm taking you on a date." Her husband proudly told her with a satisfied smile. The young queen bit her lip. As much as America loved her job as a monarch, a day off was welcome, especially since she had come back from maternity leave. But, she had work to do…

Maxon saw her expression and was quick to reassure her.

"Love, Silvia and Marlee said they could handle your work and are more than happy to let you enjoy your birthday with your family. And I already cancelled your entire day, so you really have no choice but to snuggle with us all day."

That was all it took to convince America. She happily flopped down beside Maxon on the couch and started playing peek-a-boo with Adrienne. After a few minutes, the door swung open, and breakfast was brought into the room. In the middle of the cart there was a large plate of delicious Strawberry Tarts with candles stuck in them. This was starting to look like a really great birthday.

"Thank you so much for this year's birthday present Maxon, it's perfect!" America told her husband after she had polished off her third strawberry tart of the morning. He looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"What do you mean? You haven't even seen the other fourteen birthday presents!" Maxon said.

"What? You mean there's more?" America asked incredulously. Maxon nodded with an adorable yet mischievous smirk on his face.

"So…. You're going to give me sixteen presents. Including the breakfast and my day off?" She asked him.

"Yep! One for every year I didn't get you a birthday present before I knew you" Maxon explained proudly. He reached to grab an envelope from the side table and handed it to her. America glanced at him excitedly before tearing the envelope open. Inside were two tickets. America examined them curiously, and let out a squeak when she realized what they were.

"Diamondball tickets? Maxon, I've always wanted to go to a Diamondball game!" America had only ever been able to listen to the Carolina Mets Diamondball games on the radio when she was a kid. The singers had been big fans but they had never had enough money to go see a game in person.

"By complete coincidence, the Carolina Mets are playing the Angeles Royals tonight. I couldn't pass up the chance, especially since I know you love the Royals. Oh! There's also something else in the envelope." Maxon informed her. America pulled out a couple sheets of paper from the envelope. On them were copys of pages from one of Gregory Illea's diaries.

"What are these?" America asked.

"They're about something called 'baseball'. As I understand it it's the old American version of Diamondball. I think it's played almost exactly the same way, but Gregory changed the name when he came into power since baseball was associated heavily with the United States. He called it a 'national pastime'" Maxon explained while she skimmed the page, trying to decipher Gregory's handwriting.

"When will you stop giving me all these things Maxon? It's too much!" America exclaimed.

"Never, My Dear," Maxon replied.

America discovered the fifth present while she was picking out her dress for the day. The first thing she saw when she walked into her closet was the collage of pictures she assumed Maxon had hung there. They were all stunning shots taken by him of America during her pregnancy and of newborn Addy. America was stunned, and gaped at the pictures for so long Mary started to worry and came into the closet, wondering what had happened to the queen. When Mary saw what was taking America so long, she decided she could wait a while longer for America to pick out a dress.

The sixth, seventh, and eighth presents came after America had gotten into her dress and makeup for the day. Mary had perplexed her queen when she left the room before doing America's hair and jewelry. However, it soon became clear that Maxon and Mary had planned the whole thing when she came back with Maxon, who was holding two jewelry boxes. This was the kind of present that America had been expecting to get for her birthday, but she was excited for it nevertheless.

Mary started working on America's hair while Maxon opened the first jewelry box. Inside was a stunning gold necklace with a dark blue gem in it. It was simple but stunning. Maxon moved to put the necklace on his wife and said,

"This was the necklace my father gave to my mother when she had me. She would've been so happy you know, you've turned out to be every bit as amazing a wife and mother as she was" He was always doing that, telling America how much her father and his mother would've approved of things she was doing. America tried to keep her tears away and blinked furiously.

"Maxon Schreave, if you make me cry and ruin my makeup…" She threatened. He smiled and wiped at his wife's eyes.

"Happy birthday, My Dear"

By some miracle, America managed not to cry at the memory of her mother-in-law and at her husband's romantic gesture. Indignation over being called "My Dear" and curiosity got the better of the tears, and she asked,

"What's in the other box?"

Maxon opened said box, and inside were a pair of earrings and a hair clip that that both matched the necklace.

"What am I going to do with all this jewelry, Maxon? You're pampering me!" She exclaimed.

" You deserve it, My-"

America jokingly glared at Maxon, stopping him from finishing his statement.

"You're getting awfully close to your "My Dear" quota for the day, and it's not even lunchtime yet" She bantered.

"Ah yes, I suppose I'll have to call you something else, My Royal-Strawberry-Tart-Loving-Queen" he answered.

"Much better" America managed to say before Maxon's lips captured hers.

So much for keeping her makeup intact. Mary was definitely going to have to fix her lipstick.

Once America, Maxon, and Addy had finally gotten dressed for the day, they went back to bed. The reason for this, of course was a birthday game of Castaways, America's ninth birthday present. Max and Mer had yet to play with the newest addition to their family, and they quickly determined they had room on their life boat for little Birdy.

"So what has been happening in the normal, completely ordinary, non-royal life of Max and Mer lately?" America asked.

"Well, Birdy convinced them to open up a shop" Maxon replied.

"What kind of shop?"

"Hmmmmm… a Dairy Shop"

"A Dairy Shop?"

"Yes, their little Birdy loved milk so much, Max and Mer decided that they should make a business out of dairy. They sell 20 different types of cheese, and lots of chocolate milk" Maxon decided

"And all the neighborhood children love to come buy their ice cream. Their whole town loves Max and Mer for supplying them with calcium" America added.

"Ah yes, and when Birdy gets older, she will help them make all the ice cream and cheese, and keep up the shop"

"If they ever survive this shipwreck, that is"

" This shipwreck was rather unfortunate, they were just on their way back from the International Dairy Convention"

America snorted in a very unladylike fashion,

"An International _Dairy Convention_?"

"Yes, silly, all the cows and farmers come to showcase the newest innovations in milk technology. The mooing can be heard all the way to New Asia" Maxon then mooed loudly. The little Dairy Queen thought this was hilarious, and gave her father an adorable baby smile for his antics.

After that particular game of Castaways, America was ready for lunch. The little Schreave family started down to the dining room, but Maxon diverted them to the Women's Room instead. This immediately tipped America off to the fact that perhaps her tenth birthday present was on its way. Consequently, she wasn't particularly surprised when her family and friends were all waiting for her inside the room yelling,

"Surprise!"

It did surprise Addy, however, who started crying at all the noise. At this, over half of the room rushed to dote on the baby and calm her down. Among those in attendance were May, Gerard, Magda, Kriss, Elise and Rolph, the Orders family, the Woodworks, Mary, Aspen, Lucy and little baby Meri. America handed her daughter off to Kriss, while reassuring the others that they would all get turns to hold the future queen eventually.

"Let's go enjoy my birthday lunch, shall we?" America asked her husband once her arms were free of her baby bird.

"Yes, that game of Castaways made me quite hungry" Maxon replied.

While they were eating and exchanging baby stories with Aspen and Lucy, Astra ran up to her Uncle Maxon and whispered something in his ear. America was able to hear most of what she was saying. Four-Year-Old whispers are not very quiet or stealthy.

"Can we give Aunt Ames our very-secret-birthday-book now?"

Maxon was better at whispering than his Pumpkin Head, so America couldn't hear what his reply was. It was probably something along the lines of, "Go get it from your mommy" because Astra bounded off towards her mother. Kenna pulled a flat rectangular present from the table of gifts that everyone else had brought and gave it to Astra to carry back to her Aunt and Uncle.

"Aunt Ames, we made you a present! Can I help you unwrap it?" Astra exclaimed. She climbed onto America's lap with the gift.

"Sure, Astra. Can you help me rip the paper?" America answered. The little girl was eager to help and ended up doing most of the work. Under the wrapping paper was a small picture book titled, _The Beautiful Queen._ America flipped though the book, which featured a story written in Maxon's handwriting about a queen that sounded suspiciously like herself, and drawings that had clearly been done by Astra.

"Thank you so much, Astra! "This will be the prefect bedtime story for Addy" America said and gave her niece a big hug.

"Love you, Aunt Ames" Astra mumbled into America's hug.

"Love you too, Pumpkin Head" America answered

Slowly the birthday guests left the party, until, a few hours after the lunch had started, America, Maxon, Mary, and Adrienne were the only ones left. America felt bad for the maids who would have to clean up the sea of wrapping and tissue paper left over from the presents her friends had brought, so she started to tidy the room up. From where he was lounging by the window with Addy, Maxon called

"America, no work on your birthday! We can get the staff to clean it up. Besides, I have more presents for you"

"Max-" America started, but he cut her off,

"My beautiful, hardworking queen, you can work to your heart's content tomorrow, but today you deserve to relax. You'll love your next present, I promise" America relented at her husband's pleading face and puppy dog eyes that he only used on her on rare occasions.

Maxon then led his wife from the room, and Mary followed them. They journeyed back to the Family Room in companionable silence. Addy was obviously sleepy from the party and being doted on by so many adoring subjects, so America put her down for a nap. When she softly closed the door to the nursery behind her, she immediately noticed the soft, peaceful music that wafted through the room from… somewhere.

"What's this about, Maxon?" she asked

"Your twelfth birthday present of course!" he replied while holding up a sleek black box. He knew his wife still had no idea what he was talking about from the look on her face, so he explained further.

"It's called a CD player, and it plays music through the speaker I'm holding. I know that you've been missing your music, and you haven't had much time to play. I figured if you don't have time to play it, at least you can listen to it whenever you want"

America's eyes went wide at the new technology that she hadn't even known existed. Maxon put the CD player down on the side table and picked up yet another wrapped present. He handed it to her, and as she opened it he said,

"These go with it. They're CDs that have music on them. You're supposed to put them into the slot on the CD player"

Inside were four shiny discs that were labeled in Maxon's handwriting with _Violin, Piano, Orchestra,_ and _Lullabies._ America assumed that the labels corresponded to whatever kind of music the CD's would play when she put them in the black box.

"And I thought this one with lullabies might be good to use to calm Addy down when she won't sleep. And the CD that's playing right now is all waltzes" Maxon told her. He gently took the CDs from her hands and set them on the table. Then he pressed a button on the box which made a new song come on. He turned back to her smiling, and bowed. America thought she knew where this was going.

"Could I have this dance?" he asked. Yep, she was right.

"Of course Your Royal Husbandness" She replied. Then they waltzed and kept on going even after the music stopped.

America paced the floor of her room holding Addy, trying to steal more time with her daughter before she had to leave her at the palace. She was waiting for Maxon to get dressed for the game. When he walked into the room wearing a blue Angeles Royals t-shirt with jeans, she was surprised at how he was dressed.

"Very causal I see!" America exclaimed. She glanced down at her fancy dress and frowned.

"I should probably change into a different dress to match then, shouldn't I?" she remarked.

"I don't think you should put on a dress, Ames" Maxon commented.

"I know _you_ would rather see me naked, but I don't think the country is quite ready for that, Love" America said sarcastically. Maxon let out a low chuckle.

"That's true, although it's not quite what I meant" he said, and pulled something from behind his back. He held a blue t-shirt that matched his own, an orange t-shirt, and a pair of jeans out to America.

"This is present number fourteen. I thought you might enjoy wearing pants today" he said smugly. America quickly freed a hand from holding Addy to snatch up the stack of clothing.

"I can wear pants? In public?!" She exclaimed. Maxon grinned at her childlike excitement.

'I'll hold our Baby Bird while you go put them on" He said in answer. Addy was quickly handed off to Maxon, America's reluctance to leave her momentarily forgotten.

"Be right back!" America called and stepped into the bathroom.

Moments later, she stuck her head out of the door to ask Maxon a question,

"The pants are wonderful, but why did you give me two shirts?"

"I know that you love the Royals, but you also grew up with the Mets. I wasn't sure which team you would want to root for, so I got you a shirt for both" He answered.

America's brow furrowed and she closed the door again. Which team should she choose? Her mind automatically started trying to decipher which choice would make the public like the monarchy more, but she stopped herself. Several months ago all of her public appearances were micromanaged to elevate her approval ratings and ensure her safety from the rebels. Now, all of that was different. America hadn't been planning this for weeks in advance, she would be in a very crowded public place, and she was even free to wear pants and a t-shirt.

After a few more minutes of deliberation, America pulled one of the t-shirts over her head, undid her hair and pulled it into a simple pony tail, and put in her new hair clip. She realized that Amberly's jewelry would match her attire well. The choice of the Royals ended up being a pretty easy one. Angeles had become her home over the years, and she and Maxon were together in everything. She also knew that the Royals were a really good team, which was definitely a plus to rooting for them. She was sure Maxon would approve, and sure enough, he did.

"Very nice choice, Love. GO ROYALS!"

Kenna had promised to take good care of Addy while America and Maxon attended the game, and America trusted Kenna to handle everything. Besides, Kenna was an experienced mother, and was already a paid nanny. Nevertheless, America had never been farther away than down the hall from Addy since she was born, and she was nervous to leave her daughter.

America resolved to cuddle with her until the very last moment before they had to leave. After getting ready, the King and Queen had enough time to read their daughter her new bedtime story before Kenna took over. America and Maxon gave her multiple kisses before they left.

"Well this is fancy!" America remarked when they settled into their box seats at the game.

"Only the best for the Queen's birthday!" Maxon replied. "Speaking of the best, I got a couple talented people to do something special for your birthday."

Maxon handed her a diamondball with writing all over it. She squinted at the writing until she could make out the words.

"Emic Hozmet!" She exclaimed. "You got him to sign this?"

"I got the whole team to sign it" he answered proudly.

America scrutinized until she could make out all of the players signatures. She found all of her favorite Royals players, including Silvador Perdez, Benjamin Zodris, Mitchell Moosetaker, Kendall Morisson, Alec Gortin, Yolando Ventris, and Logan Caid. The ball was definitely going on her desk at home.

The game was a night of new experiences for America. She ate her first ballpark hot dog, saw a video of herself on the jumbotron, witnessed a home run being hit for the first time (by Paul Orlondo), and she also spent a whole hour without worrying about Adrienne (a new record).

The Mets started off winning the game, but the Royals came back to beat them in spectacular fashion. After the King and Queen celebrated their team's walk off win, there was only one thing left to do.

"By my count, I've gotten fifteen birthday presents so far." America yelled over the din of the excited crowd.

"But I said sixteen, didn't I? One for every year I didn't get you a present" Maxon replied.

"Well yes, but this has been perfect already. There isn't anything else you could possibly give me" She argued.

"Here's number sixteen" her amazing husband told her

Fireworks exploded in the sky celebrating the Royals' win as Maxon passionately pressed his lips against America's. After fighting for the amendment, her difficult pregnancy, and first few months with Adrienne, it seemed to America that all was finally right with the world.


End file.
